Rising Flames
by The Eternal Scribe
Summary: Life as a Ninja is harsh and doesn't get any better when you're the brother of The Unpredictable Ninja. Good thing he's an Uzumaki. Self-insert OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** _*Scratches head sheepishly*_ I hope you enjoy this chapter. ^^

 **Warnings:** Semi-self-insert OC, AU, Ninja violence, some bad language from time to time.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

There was a _huge_ ass fox.

Staring at the monster the so-called Menma pondered the chances of his survival, but sadly came up with nothing. He could barely even move, forget trying to get the heck away from this situation.

You see this wasn't his first time being born. Sounds odd right? Well for some unknown reason after he died, he found himself being born in a world full of gigantic foxes and people who could achieve amazing things.

Though his vision was blurred, apparent an infant can't really see right after they're born, he figured out where he was rather quickly.

He was in the Naruto-verse.

You know, with all the fighting, people obsessed with making a 'better world' and mountain sized foxes. _(He was only making a big deal out of the fox because honestly he hadn't seen anything that amounted to that size before. And it was inspiring fear and awe in him at the same time, an odd combination of feelings for sure.)_

His first hint was the names, he had heard _Minato_ and _Kushina_ quite a few times as well as _Kyuubi_ and _Konoha_ , that was enough to hint that something was very wrong with his situation. _(Besides the fact that he couldn't move his limbs to save his life and whenever he tried to talk a wail came out of his mouth.)_

So after the fear and confusion that was sparked within him as people yelled, and the earth shaking roar echoed sending the chilling fear of something truly malevolent appearing, he forced himself to not freak out. No matter how much he wanted to wriggle and scream it made his mind unclear and he wouldn't be able to observe and figure out what was happening.

He knew his mothers hair was a gorgeous red, and his father's voice was one that just _spoke_ of the man being attractive, there was also a monster frolicking somewhere nearby and he had a baby beside him. One he assumed was a sibling of some sort, most likely a twin seeing that the baby looked just as new as Menma was.

The baby beside him had golden blonde hair as far as he could see, but that's all he could make out of his features, he had a set of lungs on him though that much was very obvious.

Unfortunately he had no idea what anyone was saying, though he watched anime as much as the normal Otaku he didn't know how to speak or understand the language. There were words he recognized though, the repeated ones that made him perk up and wonder if his new parents were hard-core cos-players.

Of course he soon realized that wasn't the case.

The chaos calmed down just a touch when he found himself placed on a soft bed and enveloped in a pair of warm arms that wrapped around both himself and his new sibling. From the red hair he could tell their mother was beside them and could just make out the weary eyes that stared at them sadly.

 _"Menma, Naruto."_

Her voice was quiet as she snuggled into them and thick with sadness, a hush fell across the room for a moment before his father spoke again and then was gone without a sound.

 _Naruto._

Menma was familiar with the Naruto world, _of course he was_ , the Manga was popular and had a huge fan-base dedicated to it. He played the video games quite a lot actually, his favorite character being Shisui just because he could beat his sister's butt when she decided to spam him with Deidara's bombs.

But this was no video game.

He'll be honest and admit he's terrified at the aspect of trying to survive the world of Naruto. He may like reading fantasy books but he was no dreamer when it came to reality, Naruto was a 'survival of the fittest sort of world despite the humor Kishimoto used to cover that fact.

Children were raised and trained as soon as they could walk to fight and kill, at age six they joined a school that only honed that instinct and at age twelve they were expected to complete assassinations without blinking.

Look at what happened to Itachi, at age fourteen the kid was an ANBU and had to kill his whole clan just for the sake of a village that would soon see him as an insane missing-nin without knowing what he sacrificed.

 _Pein, Orochimaru, Madara, Obito._ Those people were a real threat now, he couldn't stare at them in awe and imagine having that power while not worrying about the consequences. He was now forced in that world, and expected to survive. His brother was going to be the one to fight them and he'd be damned if he wasn't there to support him when that happened.

Why? Because he'd be a horrible person to leave Naruto alone in the world when he had the chance to have a family member.

Which made him wonder what would change now that the blonde had a brother, since Naruto had connected with Sasuke because of their similarities how would the two become eventual friends if Naruto had a brother?

How much did Menma mess up by just being born?

Everything went by a lot faster then he wanted, explosions shook the earth, he was picked up and then, what he could only describe as teleportation, brought them outside where the Kyubi stood just a few feet away.

From his place in Kushina's arms he watched as blurred silver lines flew out of her back and wove around the Kyubi, making the fox growl in annoyance. Instantly Naruto started to cry in Minato's arms and Menma couldn't blame him, for a baby with no knowledge of the world he was probably terrified.

Being so close to Kurama made a shiver of instinctual fear roll down his spine, despite becoming friends with Naruto in the future the Kyubi was an embodiment of fear and hate making the very air saturated with a tangible darkness.

He heard Kushina and Minato converse some more, their voices broken and tired but full of a deep sadness that made his gut clench. Though they weren't his parents, a person's death wasn't something to take lightly. They were going to disappear from this world _forever._

Suddenly he was set on the ground next to Naruto so that the two Ninja's had their hands free and Memna finally grasped the situation.

Here he was, lying beside Naruto while Minato and Kushina fought the Kyuubi.

There was something wrong about this, why didn't they leave him in the third Hokage's care or something? Why bring him out int he battle field when Naruto was going to be the one to have Kurama sealed inside of his body?

He heard Minato murmur something before a rush of what felt like electricity crackled through the air, half-panicked because he didn't know what they were planning Menma cursed himself for not learning Japanese. There was a pained roar and then suddenly he found his body _burning._ Every nerve in his body was in agony and his very bones felt like they were being stretched to their limits. Unable to control himself Menma started to _wail_ as his skin prickled and fire raced through his veins. He could _feel_ the dark Chakra try to force it's way out, hearing an angered, but muted, roar in the back of his mind.

Things weren't going like he'd thought they would. He didn't think that Minato would seal the yin side of the Kyuubi inside of him.

After that were a a pained blur, a loud roar, the rush of air as a claw the side of a truck rushed toward them and then the shock of watching their parents step in front of it to stop them from being harmed.

Minato and Kushina sacrificed their lives without hesitation, and he could see the way they spoke and looked down at them they didn't regret it. Kushina murmured to them softly, most likely telling them to be good and continue to work toward their goals until they accomplished them. He stared up at them, trying to force his vision to clear if only for a moment so he could remember their faces forever. Even if it had only been a few hours since he arrived Menma knew what he had to do.

Mentally he promised Kushina and Minato he'd protect Naruto with his life, no matter what. Even if he was going to be seen as a monster he wouldn't hate them for what they did, he would force himself to keep walking even if all the bones were broken in his body.

 _And a Ninja never goes back on his word._

He passed into peaceful darkness once Minato shouted something and Naruto started to cry.

* * *

Things finally settled down and stayed that way and Menma found himself in a crib next to Naruto in the Hokage's office with Sarutobi looking down at them with tired eyes.

Menma took that time to actually reflect on his situation and how he was going to handle it. In his past life he wasn't much of a fighter, he preferred video games over exercising which meant being a Ninja would be a challenge for him. But did he have any choice? Not only was he a son of the fourth Hokage, but Naruto was his brother. The trouble making Ninja was going to be caught in so many different problems there was no way Menma would just be able to sit by and watch it all. Of course he wasn't a fool, he didn't think he'd be able to defeat all the bad guys and become super powerful. But he'd try his hardest.

If anything family was the most important to him, even if Naruto had become part of it moments ago, Menma was going to protect him with everything he had. Even if that meant spending excruciating hours training his body to jump across trees and shoot fire out of his mouth.

He wasn't a fool though, life was cruel and the Naruto-verse was harsh. Many people just killed without thinking because they were paid to or it was their job. Some had no morals and killed anyone, while a select few at least hesitated before finally coming to the decision. Almost every Ninja would do anything to protect their village, once again look at Itachi and what he did.

Memna wasn't used to _not_ being safe, he had grown up in a peaceful town with protection and didn't have to worry about war or being killed. He couldn't tell if being reborn here was a gift or a curse in all honest truth. He'd have to constantly be on guard and aware that at any moment someone could spring out and try to kill him. If he wanted to see his brother grow up to be the incredible person he was then Menma would have to train his body and become strong enough to face the foes alongside Naruto. He wasn't one to just sit by and watch after all.

But the fact was he was here and there was nothing he could do about it. And though he wished he'd be able to say 'I'm going to lay low' that was impossible. At the same time he wasn't going to _try_ and become noticed, he'd watch over his brother and make sure they both survived.

After a few days they were brought to a house where a reluctant Nanny took care of them. Menma was a little surprised, since he had always imagined Naruto growing up in an Orphanage, but at the same time relieved. It made sense that Sarutobi would have a Nanny raise them since everyone in the village hated their guts and there were so many children in the orphanage after the war. The fact that he and Naruto were related to the fourth Hokage and last Uzumaki was also probably a big part in the decision as well as Sarutobi's own feelings regarding the matter.

Either way though it was better than the orphanage.

The Nanny wasn't the best, but she took care of them. Menma could tell that she was rather uncomfortable touching them and he found himself only picked up if he needed to be changed or fed.

He honestly hated it, the fact that the woman saw Naruto as a monster and didn't give him any affection grated at his nerves. _(And if he made a point in crying whenever she so much as touched him, well that was a mystery she'd never be able to solve.)_ He never understood why a whole village could aim so much hate toward a child barely able to think for himself, but loss blinded people. He had never lost someone close to him before so he wasn't able to understand why they acted that way, but he liked to think losing Kushina and Minato was pretty close even though he never fully bonded with them. He still felt pain when thinking about what Naruto's life would have been like with them alive, and found himself making sure to interact with his brother as much as possible.

Naruto was a ball of sunshine when he wasn't screaming at the top of his lungs. Really that child could make some _noise_. Besides the crying Naruto was all giggles and smiles, much like a normal baby that made Menma internally coo at the sheer adorableness.

Menma took to basing his own growth on Naruto's, when the blond moved his head Menma did the same, when his brother decided to crawl around guess who was happily following after him? At times waiting felt excruciating, being an adult in a child's body was similar to someone stuffing you in a too-small box and pouring concrete over it. He found himself stifled at times, and had to shove down upcoming freak outs on the rare occasion he was really bad, but mostly he was growing used to his situation.

He slowly started to learn the language as well, being in a place where everyone spoke one language was a great way to learn said language. Though he was sure to fail epically when it came to writing it out, grasping the basics of speaking it wasn't as hard as he initially though it would be. But that may just be him since he had no choice but to learn.

Days, weeks, months passed and soon they were taking their first steps across the floor and Menma took the opportunity to head to the nearest mirror. When the Nanny was out he wandered into the bathroom, pushed the stepping stool in front of the sink and shakily took a step onto it. He grabbed the sink just in case and stood on his tiptoes to look at his reflection.

Staring back at him was a small whiskered child with spiky _crimson red_ hair and dark purple almost black eyes that were slightly narrowed.

 _Well that was unexpected._

He was basically was opposite of Naruto, instead of a round jaw his was more defined making him look like a near copy of Minato looks wise but color wise it was all Kushina. If the villagers didn't connect _his_ looks with the forth Hokage's he'd have to question their levels of denial. Honestly them not realizing who Naruto was related to was enough for him to wonder if they were forcing themselves not to realize the truth since they didn't want to imagine the heroes son being a monster or if they were just plain dumb.

Either way it was rather sad.

He wondered though if having the red hair meant he'd be able to wield the Chakra chains like Kushina did, that would be helpful in situations where Naruto went berserk and the Kyubi tried to take over. Or if his own Kyubi decided to rebel.

He had to keep reminding himself that he too was a Jinchuriki, and the fire racing through his body wasn't his imagination.

Thoughtful he climbed back down and made his way back to Naruto who was already calling out 'Aniki' as if he had been gone for hours.

The Nanny stayed for a surprising four years, but once Naruto started to prank her she was gone within weeks pissed and never seen again. Menma was rather relieved, her presence was a heavy cloud in their little family and usually ticked Naruto off with the way she treated them. As a child Naruto was rather advanced which wasn't all that unusual, at age six children where learning to fight so they needed to be more advanced then normal ones.

That didn't mean him and Naruto were any more well off, Naruto was still a naive kid which meant Menma had to watch over him and basically make sure he didn't get himself killed.

In the very least it gave him something to do, he knew that he wasn't supposed to train his body too much before it was ready and accidentally hurt himself so he stuck to yoga in the mornings and a jog before dinner. Naruto seemed interested at first but within ten minutes he was complaining about how boring it was so Menma didn't think the blond would be joining him next time. Even though Naruto was his brother the younger boy, by a few minutes he was told, was as independent as Kishimoto wrote him as. Most of the time Naruto was off running in the village or wanting to to try and talk to the other children in hopes of making friends.

It broke his heart to see everyone snub Naruto without a second thought. Children learned from their parents that he and Naruto were 'dangerous' which meant they were to be avoided as much as possible and lead Naruto to random bouts of depression as he tried to figure out what was wrong with him. There were moments that Menma teetered on the edge of telling Naruto _why_ everyone in the village seemed to despise their very existence but decided against it.

He wasn't going to play God on the characters even if he was Naruto's brother, they were their own people and he realized that. At the same time he didn't want to _not_ at least try and stop a few things in hopes of making in the end result a little better. Of course that's what everyone thought in the beginning but once they actually got into the story they realized it wasn't as easy as they thought it would be.

So he'd wait to tell Naruto about Kurama, for now.

* * *

Perched on the swing, head down as he looked at the ground Naruto tried to keep the tears back as the sting of denial washed through his body. Just a few moments ago three children were sitting here faces joyful and laughing like they were having a good time, he had watched them for a few minutes longing to play along before hesitantly approaching them in hopes they'd be different.

They weren't.

Just like everyone else they refused to play with him and even said their parents forbid them from talking to him before leaving without a second glance.

He didn't know what he did to be treated in such a way by the whole village. Only the Old Man, the current Hokage, looked down at him with a kind smile and gentle eyes.

Well there was one other person who accepted him without a second thought, his brother Menma was just as effected by the hostility aimed their way but never allowed it to show on his face. Instead a small smile would grace his features and he'd pat Naruto on the head telling him the villagers were judgmental and refused to see things as they actually were. Naruto didn't really understand what that meant, but Menma always gave him strength when they walked together, like he could face all the hatred and loneliness if his brother was by his side without hesitating.

"Naruto."

He looked up from the ground and grinned weakly when he spotted his brother walking toward him. Menma's hair was a bright crimson red that he always thought was really pretty and tended to turn heads whenever they went outside. Sometimes he'd even hear whispered words of 'Habanero' and 'Yellow Flash' for some strange reason.

Menma stared at him knowingly with his hands stuffed in his dark pants. "It happened again, didn't it?"

Naruto clenched the chains in his hands. "Why do they react that way to us? We never did anything bad to them."

His brother sighed and walked closer before patting him on the head with a small smile. "The villagers are judgmental-"

"-and refuse to see what's in front of them. I know." Naruto finished without a second thought. "Still..."

Menma rose a brow at his actions but said nothing.

For a moment they stayed in a heavy silence, and Naruto wondered if perhaps his brother would finally tell him why they were treated so badly. He was sure Menma knew _something_ and his sibling was hiding it for whatever reason, he wanted to know but at the same time didn't want to push it. Though quiet Menma would get _terrifying_ if he was truly pissed off, he had seen those heart stopping glares aimed toward a particularly nasty pair of women talking about them not so quietly, so he wasn't quite ready to face that yet.

"Do you want to play Ninja? I'll be the bad guy."

Naruto perked up at that and Menma's face broke out into a playful grin. Though he didn't admit it Naruto knew the other boy enjoyed the game just as much as he did no matter how adult he acted. "Yeah!" He jumped off the swing as his brother spun around racing off toward the wooded area.

He followed after eagerly eyes locked on the bright red that could be easily spotted in the woods. Menma was _fast_ but his hair always gave him away, it was pretty but made it easy for him to find the other boy when they were playing.

Spotting a shock of red hair peeking out from behind a tree Naruto grinned and slowed town until he was tiptoeing, slowly he rounded the tree being careful not to step on any twigs like his brother had shown him. Menma had told him if he was extra careful and snuck up in his enemies they'd never notice him and he'd be able to beat them, so to make sure he'd win this he had be to very quiet.

When he reached the side of the tree he crouched down in the bushes and eyed his brother who's violet eyes were switching back and forth as he observed his surroundings.

Snickering to himself Naruto reveled in his near victory, _finally_ he'd win this game-

Menma's eyes snapped toward his spot at the sound and he froze, breath catching as his brother stared him down. _CRAP!_

In a flash of red Menma leaped toward him with a loud battle cry and then they were rolling around in the dirt, Naruto grinned and tried his hardest to wrestle the other boy as they playfully fought. Happiness roared through him making his heart warm, even though they had no parents they had each other and that was enough for him. Even if the villagers shunned them and all the kids refused to allow them to join games Naruto had Menma and that was enough.

Eventually they both ended up on the ground, leaves in their hair and skin smudged with dirt as they panted. Naruto turned his head so he was facing Menma and his brother did the same, they traded tired grins and fist bumped.

"Just to let you know I won." Naruto commented as he sat up.

"Oh?"

He peeked toward his brother who was eyeing him in a certain light that made his energy return within moments. "Yeah! I totally kicked your butt!"

The red-head got up as well, apparently refreshed even though they were tired just seconds ago. That was the fun part of playing with his brother. Unlike a lot of children he spotted they didn't tire out until hours later and even then they could keep going if they wanted.

"I don't think that's the way it went Naruto."

Naruto grinned widely. "You just don't want to admit you lost."

Menma snorted and without warning crashed into him again, he shouted in shock and then they were at it again paying no mind to how dirty they were getting.

...

..

.

Sarutobi smiled at the glass ball as he watched the two children roll around and laugh loudly, both were completely filthy but seemed to not care in the slightest.

It warmed his heart to see them interacting like that, he had been afraid the villagers actions toward them would make them lose any affection they had toward Konoha but that didn't seem to be the case. With Menma around Naruto wasn't alone, the blond had a family member to lean a shoulder on instead of facing all the hatred alone. Even if there was a law against speaking a word about the Kyubi Sarutobi couldn't control how _everyone_ in the village acted.

At first he had planned on giving them to the orphanage but being twins he wasn't quite sure how the Matron would deal with them both. As far as the village was aware there were _two_ demons residing in Konoha and that made them react twice as bad as they would if there was only Naruto. So to be on the safe side he bought a small apartment for the both of them, hired a nanny who wouldn't out-right ignore them and placed a couple ANBU to watch over their place in case the villagers got courageous.

It wasn't too shocking to see the nanny storming off four years later covered in paint and fuming, though he had wished she'd stay longer he knew that any son of Kushina wouldn't stand her attitude. So he made sure to watch over the two children having the ANBU place bags of groceries in front of their door if they were running out of food and sending packages of clothing when they grew out of their old ones. He was a busy man, but he always made sure to save some time to keep the two children well supplied. When they got older he'd set up an allowance for them to do as they please but until then he'd watch out for them.

Despite a few incidents they were doing surprisingly well. Menma seemed to have inherited much more then Minato's face but his brains as well and that lead to the two living a relatively peaceful life. Sometimes Sarutobi would find himself reminiscing about how the two children acted so much like their parents. It was like seeing Kushina and Minato walking around again and that worried him. With Menma looking so much like Minato even the villagers were starting to talk and make theories. Most of them were about how the demon stole their heroes face, but the smarter ones were starting to _wonder_.

If someone walked out of the village and told another person in a different village about Menma that information would spread until assassin would be sent to deal with him. The boy was too young to even begin training him so Sarutobi would have to up the ANBU watch just to make sure nothing horrible happened.

The third Hokage sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Minato had split the Kyubi in half, the yin going to Menma and the yang going to Naruto and the differences between the two were obvious. Naruto was all together happier and attracted everyones gazes with his upbeat personality and cheerful demeanor. Menma was quiet and calm, much like his father, but when he glared it sent the receiver scurrying away in fear within seconds.

Two very different children but closer then anyone cloud imagine.

He wondered what sort of Ninja the two would end up being, would the world see another Kushina and Minato or would it be something even more dangerous? Would they make an unbeatable team that could break any enemies defenses or become two equally feared independent Ninja's? He was almost excited to see what they would evolve to be and wondered if perhaps putting them on a team together would be the better plan after all. Siblings weren't usually put on the team since they were prone to putting each other's needs over the third member's but this case was special. Both had the Kyubi inside of them and with Kakashi being the last person alive who Minato had tutored they would work best on his team.

Sarutobi was hoping they could support each other and maybe even calm the other one down if the need arose, which was one of the reasons he was mulling over their placement. It may be dangerous to put two Jinchuriki together but it could also work to their advantage.

Either way though they were both good for each other and for now that was enough.

* * *

 **AN:** Tell me what you think about this idea, I've been mulling over it for some time and finally decided to give it a try. What team do you think Menma should be on? Should I give putting him on team 7 a try and see what happens? Sorry for any mistakes, I'll fix them in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thank you for all the wonderful feed back! ^^

 **Warnings:** Read chapter one.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

Peeking around the corner, Menma narrowed his eyes the two Shinobi lingering in front of the door he wanted to go in. They both had green vests on so they were probably Chunin, either way there was little chance he'd be able to sneak past, especially at his current level.

"Is there anyone over there?"

He held back the urge to jump at the loud voice and turned his head to look at the blond beside him, Naruto grinned sheepishly as he pressed a finger to his mouth and instantly asked the same question again but quieter this time.

Menma nodded. "There's two Chunin at the moment, we're going to have to wait until they leave."

His brother's eyes narrowed in annoyance and the other boy huffed.

Honestly he couldn't blame him, since the villagers were so against them it was hard to enter stores or even the Library without people whispering and glaring. Menma couldn't believe that a whole village would be so against two children that were only four years old. Barely even old enough to start training he and his brother weren't much of a danger at the moment. Yet people insisted on treating them like they were demons threatening to destroy the village.

In a way he understood, really he did, but there was no way he sympathized for them.

To have to go through so much trouble to just visit the Library was ridiculous, the Shinobi wouldn't try and stop them, that would be too obvious. No instead they would _stare_ and judge and that was even worse then them outright attacking.

Sticks and stones and all of that yeah, but their words still hurt Naruto even if the young child stopped being so obvious about it. His brother had started using his facade early in life it seemed, to keep everyone from seeing how their actions truly affected him. Now instead of a excited child full of smiles Menma's hands were full of a determined, _loud,_ Naruto from canon. After growing up with Naruto and being so close Menma was easily able to tell when Naruto was faking his smile and when it was actually genuine.

Thus the reason he had taken to sneaking around like a criminal and trying to avoid any conformation with Ninja. He'd rather not have Naruto be harassed by someone who could kill them both in a blink of an eye.

"How much longer are we going to have to wait here?" Naruto whined, kicking at a random rock. "Let's go play Ninja or something, Libraries are _boring_ anyways."

Menma had to agree with him on that, they'd been lingering for about forty-five minutes and the Shinobi had yet to leave. He had planned on sneaking in to get some books on Taijutsu and Chakra control but it didn't seem like it would happen anytime soon. He wasn't a genius, things like fighting and instinctually knowing where to aim didn't come to him naturally so he needed to _learn._ Being in a child's body meant people would probably think he was some sort of genius and while he would catch on faster there were somethings he had no clue how to deal with.

Like wielding Chakra for example, he could feel his own burning through his body like a raging fire but when it came to trying to use it he didn't know how. Honestly he was a little hesitant to try since he didn't want to hurt himself permanently and wasn't one to just try something that he knew nothing about. Of course it wasn't like anyone was willing to teach him since he was apparently a demon terrorizing the village, so what choice did he have?

Maybe he could make up his own fighting style? He had taken a little Karate when he was younger in his past life so he could use that knowledge to just make up something?

Learning how to fight shouldn't be this hard in a universe like this, normal people were able to ask their parents or even have another Shinobi train them. Menma highly doubted that many people would train them without trying to sabotage them and of course they had no parents.

 _It's the villagers fault._

"Aniki?"

Menma broke out of his thoughts to turn to his brother who was looking slightly nervous and calmed down a bit. Though he was normally a peaceful person he tended to accidentally scare the crap out of people when he started to get upset. He supposed it came from having Kushina as his mother with her infamous temper.

He sent a small smile toward his brother. "I'm fine Naruto, let's go back home I don't think we'll be able to get in today."

The blonde grinned happily and put his hands behind his head, obviously happy that they were finally leaving.

Making up his own fighting style couldn't be that hard, right?

* * *

Of course it was.

Menma didn't know a thing about fighting besides the few years in Karate, but he had been so young back then everything was a little fuzzy to him.

But that didn't stop him from trying.

Naruto was once again running around the village while he found a little spot in the forest to try and train. He couldn't find himself minding the fact that the blond was probably terrorizing one of the shopkeepers who had once again over-priced their food. The Hokage had given them a monthly allowance once he was sure they knew their way around the village, but even that money was quickly disappearing since things were two times as much as they should be.

They were forced to get atrocious clothing much to Naruto's delight. His brother adored orange and was happy to get neon orange shorts and a white shirt with a spiral on it. Menma couldn't' figure out how to talk the other boy out of the color, since the brightness of it would surely get them both killed, but Naruto was so happy wearing it he didn't push it too much. As for himself he had to settle with a _orange_ shirt underneath a _bright red_ jacket and black shorts, a pretty bad combination of colors.

One couldn't be too picky though, especially when they were low on money.

But back to trying to teach himself how to fight.

It wasn't going all that well obviously. He was basing his attacks on Karate which was focused on striking the opponent and was going to need enough force to actually affect his opponent. His body wasn't made for strength though, unlike his past one it was almost delicate and light, mostly because Minato had been similar and he had inherited that from his father. His attacks needed to be focused on speed and accuracy instead, so the most obvious thing to work on was how long he could keep up his pace and how swift it was.

Since he didn't have anyone to practice with trees became his best friends. Menma focused on basic punching first, making sure to make contact with the tree despite the pain his hand went through as it hit the bark. He was good with ignoring it though, if he forced his mind to think of other things his fist hitting the tree was nothing.

His motivation was becoming strong enough to protect his brother, that's what drove him to practice endlessly and push past the pain each training session. Gai and Lee did the same thing, though they were different then he was, they too had to ignore the pain to become stronger.

Of course he made sure to pace himself, it wouldn't do to overwork his body so soon in the game. But he did push himself a little, things like running instead of jogging every morning and starting to achieve push ups and sit ups in the evenings was something he worked on. Time to time Naruto would join him, excited to take part in the apparently 'secret' training he was putting himself through. Naruto being Naruto lost interest quickly, as he was known to do, and settled for joining sometimes while running around the rest of the time.

If he were anyone else Menma would have tried to talk his brother into exercising as well, heavens knows Naruto would need it, but he didn't force it. Naruto was his own person when it came down to it, an excitable, _loud_ , child who enjoyed pulling pranks and making chaos. Menma made sure to keep an eye on him and help the blonde if he got into any trouble but otherwise allowed his brother to do as he pleased. It wasn't like he could help anyways, he had no idea how to use Chakra and was still trying to figure out how to defend himself with the little knowledge he had.

Besides training he made sure to spend time with his brother as much as possible. If there was anything he wanted to accomplish it was to make sure Naruto wasn't lonely, they were family and there was no excuse for Naruto to feel alone when he had a brother.

Which of course meant Menma needed to assist him when it came to pranks.

 _(A small part of him relished in the feeling of preying on unexpected villagers, though he'd never admit it. Must be the mischievous streak all Uzumaki seemed to have.)_

* * *

Near their fifth birthday Menma is finally able to get into the the library, of course it wasn't easy. He had to spend the little money they had on a scarf and hat to cover his red hair and whisker marks, otherwise they wouldn't have welcomed him so warmly. Thankfully in a Village of Shinobi it wasn't uncommon for someone to walk around so covered up so he only gained a few odd looks but no one approached him to question his intentions.

It was odd to be around people that usually glared death your direction and have them not mind that you were around. His disguise was simple but enough that unless someone knocked off his hat no one would recognize who he was.

Of course he had to talk Naruto into waiting outside for him in a nearby tree, heavens knows his brother wouldn't be able to stay quiet enough and once he opened his mouth everyone would surely realize just who they allowed into the Library.

It was still irritating that he had to go so far to check out a book while others could come and go as they pleased, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. No one would listen if he tried to tell them him and Naruto were no danger to the villagers so why even bother being irritated about it?

 _Because he knew what it felt like to be a normal person in the world_.

Shaking off the quickly rising anger, that if not controlled would end badly for everyone, Menma continued his search for the books he and his brother needed. He opted to not ask a librarian where the books were since she may recognize his face and instead was _trying_ to find the books by himself.

Which was rather hard when the Library was _huge._

The building itself was two stories and each level packed with nearly ceiling high bookshelves full of books the village had collected over the years. Menma couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer volume that they managed to receive and wished that he'd be able to spend more time to simply wander around and check everything out.

But of course nothing was that easy.

"-and I told him that if he didn't back off-"

Smoothly Menma slipped behind the closets bookcase and allowed the two girls to pass keeping his head low just in case they glanced at him. They paid no heed to him though, why would they he was just a normal child at the moment, and continued their journey through the building without care.

He turned his head up to watch them go, his fingers tightening their grip on his hat.

 _That wasn't so hard now was it? I didn't attack you when you weren't looking and I'm not planning to anytime soon. Why can't you just walk past us like that every time?_

Tapping his fingers in a random rhythm on the rim of his hat Menma turned right and headed deeper into the books shelves, eyes scanning the titles for anything to do with Chakra.

He wasn't quite sure if he'd be able to learn the basics of Chakra control by reading a simple book, he wasn't counting on his _genius (ha)_ to suddenly awaken and have him be able to learn anything he wanted. Menma may be an adult in a child's body but he was still that same adult, the normal everyday human who struggled to learn things just as anyone else did.

But at least reading about how Chakra worked would help him and Naruto not be so behind when they entered the academy.

Well he hoped so, but with their brain powers combined he wasn't too sure.

After what seemed like an hour he found a book on Chakra control and eagerly grabbed it up. With practiced ease he opened it and started flipping through the pages swiftly his gaze trying to take in as many pages as it could. He didn't want to spend too much time here since Naruto _was_ waiting for him and he doubted it was patiently.

He closed the book silently and held back a grin, the book looked like it was useful, there was diagrams of the Chakra Pathway System that would surely help him out if only a little bit.

Now to get back to his brother.

...

..

.

Staring wide-eyed at his brother who proudly held the book in his hands Naruto grinned, though he wasn't too certain _why_ Menma wanted to do something as boring as read a book, he was happy his brother made it out okay. Menma thought the book was important enough to risk being seen by the villagers in such a popular place so Naruto couldn't help but be excited.

His brother was usually similar to a shadow, quiet and mostly invisible except for the shock of red hair that caught everyone's eyes. He was sure if Menma had black hair everyone would look him over because of how much time he spent in his head instead of talking out-loud.

Naruto couldn't imagine being so calm all the time, everything was so exciting that he'd surely end up exploding because of all the build up that gathered as he tried to contain himself.

"I know you don't care about books Naruto, but this one is very important to us. It's going to help us become Shinobi." Menma's dark eyes were alight with excitement unlike the usual bored look he had on his face.

Naruto jumped up and down, feeding off of his brothers excitement. "Really? That's _awesome!_ We're going to be stronger then the Yondaime in no time!"

His brother rose a brow and a small smile formed on his face. "The Yondaime?"

The blonde nodded looking up to the Hokage monument to stare at the fourth face carved into the mountain. "Yeah! He saved the village from the Kyubi, that means he must be super strong!"

He closed his eyes when the red-head tapped a book lightly on his head. "It's going to be a while before we even reach that level Naruto, we don't even know how to use Chakra yet."

"Who needs Chakra when you can just beat them up with your fist!"

Menma shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We have a lot of reading to catch up on."

* * *

 _Since being spread by Hagoromo, better known as the Sage of the Six Paths, chakra has become a form of life energy that all individuals produce to some degree; those who run out of chakra will die. Produced within the "chakra coils" that mainly surround and connect to each chakra-producing organ, the energy circulates throughout the body in a network called the "Chakra Pathway System", which is similar to the cardiovascular system._

Rubbing his head which felt like it was about to be split open thanks to the massive headache he had, Menma internally cursed himself.

He wasn't very good at reading Japanese in the first place, but to try and understand the ancient symbols of the Naruto world was near impossible. It took every ounce of his concentration to even start to comprehend what was in front of him while learning how to use Chakra.

In the Fan Fictions he read everyone seemed to be able to understand the language so easily, as if they had some sort of learning curve that the Gods forgot to gift him with.

Yes he was a child, and sure his mind was 'young' but it was also full of information from his _past_ life. So trying to cram new information into the already tightly packed storage space wasn't an easy feat, he couldn't just erase memories to create room so he was having a tough time.

Sure living with people who spoke the language helped him learn how to speak it himself, but _reading_ was another thing entirely.

 _Shinobi, have learned to generate more chakra and release it outside their bodies through pressure points called tenketsu in order to perform jutsu. Chakra is not normally visible to the human eye, though it can be seen in situations where a person releases as much of their chakra as possible._

 _Chakra is created when two other forms of energy, known collectively as one's "stamina", are moulded together. Physical energy is collected from each and every one of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise._

Maybe he didn't have enough Chakra and needed to train more? That was a possibility though he didn't think so since he apparently had the Kyubi inside of him.

But then again who knows what type of seal Minato put onto him, it could have been one that completely blocked Kurama from affecting him in anyway which left him with the Natural Chakra he was born with.

That was also possible, but Menma didn't think the Yondiame had enough time to create two different seals while Kurama was rampaging about.

 _Spiritual energy is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. These two energies becoming more powerful will in turn make the created chakra more powerful. Therefore, practicing a technique repeatedly will build up experience, increasing one's spiritual energy, and thus allowing more chakra to be created._

 _In order to have good chakra control, a ninja should only mould as much chakra as they need to perform a given ability. If they mould more chakra than is needed, the excess chakra is wasted and they will tire out faster from its loss. If they don't mould enough chakra, a technique will not be performed effectively, if at all, likely creating problems in a combat situation._

Perhaps he needed to find an ability he could perform and then focus on forming his Chakra to create whatever affect the attack made? He supposed instead of trying to force his Chakra to just appear for no purpose when he hadn't used it at all was foolish.

But shouldn't it be easier for him to control? More natural even since he was born from two very powerful Shinobi?

That probably wasn't how Chakra worked but he could dream, right?

Turning a few pages he studied the diagram of the Chakra pathways, tapping his fingers on the wooden table thoughtfully.

It was really amazing to see that everyone really did have Chakra running through their body, and it was _everywhere._ Even the civilians had Chakra though not enough that they'd be able to perform Ninjutsu, they still had a good amount. Coming from a world where Chakra was just a thought and not something tangible it was still hard for him to comprehend he could actually use it.

Just imagining himself spitting out fire made him feel like a child again. That sort of stuff was only in books and daydreams, no one actually was able to do that in his past life without seriously maiming themselves or someone else. Yet here anyone could do it and not get so much as a scratch on them as long as they were well practiced.

And spitting out fire was only the start.

Placing his head on the open book with a sigh Menma closed his eyes for a moment.

Everything was so different here, the way people acted, the beliefs, _everything._ And here he was pretending to be perfectly fine with with and go along with whatever anyone else was doing but in reality he was panicking.

 _Soon he was going to learn how to kill someone._

If he was born in the Naruto-verse originally he would probably have no problem attending the academy. But growing up and watching as people who committed murder where sent to jail or worse he saw killing as something _bad._ Taking a person's life wasn't _right,_ no one should just end a life because they were paid to do it.

Yet the people here killed without hesitation. Sure there were characters like Naruto who didn't like killing, but the vast majority didn't give a damn and that was the scary part.

What would it be like to come across someone like Madara? A man who wanted to put every living human under a Genjutsu that made them believe that they were living in a peaceful world.

Someone who could summon a meteor from space, but wait not just one but _two_ gigantic space rocks.

How was that even possible?

Groaning Menma could literally _feel_ his mind sputter as he tried to come up with an explanation. He needed to take a nap, a very, very long nap.

* * *

 **AN:** So there's a lot of 'Menma should be in team 7' and 'he shouldn't be in team 7' I'm still deciding but if he does go onto team 7 it wouldn't be a four man team. I'd figure something else out and maybe add Sakura to the Medic Nins. But that's if Menma is in team 7.

Anyways I hoped you liked the chapter! Sorry for any mistakes.


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